Heartbeat Decisions
by AkinaNe
Summary: He can only choose one woman to save, and he's got a minute to do it. Rated T for some language and a tad of adult content.


**A/N: I have fallen in love with Intelligence. This is such an amazing show. I can't wait to see where they bring Riley and Gabriel as partners and friends (or something a little more? ;) ). The two of them are amazing! This is my first Intelligence fic so I hope nothing is too OOC. Let me know if it is, so I can do better the next time! This wasn't beta-ed so all proofreading errors are my own. Sorry if I missed anything.**

**Lastly, just so no one is confused, Gabriel is dreaming for the first part. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Intelligence. Neither do any of my clones. Sigh… maybe one day.**

**~Enjoy~**

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"It hurt that you called me a serpent, Gabriel. I'm _Eve_, not some run of the mill snake. You should be overjoyed by my existence, _Adam_." Mei Chen tilted her head, her tight bun framing her round face.

Her dark hair and dark clothing stood out against the white walls of the bare room. "You're special," Mei Chen continued with the barest hint of a Chinese accent. "You are the new species." Her tone rose and fell like the curves of a snake. "And yet," she paused, savoring the moment, "you let a human girl protect you."

A growl teased at the back of his throat. He hadn't asked for Riley. The universe knew he hated the idea of someone taking a bullet for him. But to hear it described in Mei Chen's condescending voice… Riley deserved better than that.

As he took a step forward, the room spun, knocking his foot back to the ground. It came to a jarring halt, throwing him off-balance, and when he looked up, Amelia stood before him. His chest squeezed.

"Riley," she said with a light smile. "She's a good woman for the job. Might actually manage to keep you in line." She crossed her arms and studied him in the look he recognized as agent, not wife. "She's a little like me."

His eyebrows rose, causing her to laugh.

"Oh, Gabe, don't tell me you haven't noticed. Same dark hair, same patriotic, noble, anything-for-the-cause attitude." She took a couple of steps closer until their chests almost touched. "Don't be afraid of that."

"Be afraid? Why would I—" His words were lost to the wind as the room spun a second time.

This time it was Riley, smiling from where she leaned against the wall. "She's got a point, Gabriel. But there's something…" her eyes flitted across the room, searching for threats, "… different about me, isn't there?"

"Why do you let her speak as if she knows more than you?" Mei Chen's breath was hot against his ear. "You are the one with the chip."

Gabriel jerked his head away from her red lips.

"As am I. We are made for each other." Ignoring his movement, she ran her nails down his scalp, smiling deviously.

He twisted away from her. "Get the hell away from me."

Amelia tugged on his arm, stealing his attention. "Gabriel," she said with the same fear and heartache in her voice as when she'd been assigned to Mumbai. "You were supposed to be my compass."

His heart jolted. Supposed to be?

"Geography's a bitch," she murmured, tears welling in her stunning, dark eyes.

Mei Chen's low voice was back in his ear. His chip effortlessly translated the Mandarin Chinese. "Geography never need part us." Her arms wrapped around his chest and she pushed herself against his back. "If I'm not there in the flesh, I'll be there in your render."

"Get off me!" He struggled to unlock her hands when she was suddenly yanked away. By the time he turned around there had been a thump and a hiss of pain.

Riley stood, fist extended, glaring at Mei Chen whose jaw bloomed with a fresh bruise. "He said stay away," Riley warned, focusing her threatening stare on the smaller woman. She left her fighter's stance and backed away.

Gabriel made a move to go with her and bumped into an invisible force. He pushed against it with all his strength, fighting to get to where Mei Chen was stalking his partner.

"Next time you find someone, don't let them run half a world away."

He turned without a second thought, brushing stray hairs behind Amelia's ear. "Amelia?" He questioned as she shook him off and took a step away. "Amelia!"

The audio from her last moments echoed around the room as she kept walking backwards. "It was always a lie. I never loved you. I've always hated you." Her voice broke, contradicting her words. "You have less than a minute."

"Less than a minute, what are you—"

Two gunshots followed in quick succession. He spun to the potential threat, blocking Amelia's body with his own.

Mei Chen held a hand over her heart, blood pouring between her fingers. Her lipstick had smeared over her mouth—or was it blood? Her stained lips rose in a grimacing smirk. Gabriel followed her line of sight to Riley.

She stood ten feet away, blood painting the hand she clutched to her abdomen. "Forty five seconds, Gabriel."

Before he could ask what was with the damn countdown, Lillian's voice came booming from above. With it came the sickening knowledge she'd been the one to set this up. "Forty three seconds to choose who you're going to save, Agent Vaughn."

His eyes widened. Riley shook her head at him. "Not me."

He spun back to Amelia and his heart skipped a beat. She stood as he'd last seen her, a defibrillator charging at her feet in a desperate attempt to stop the Red X in her stomach.

Mei Chen's high-pitched scream tore through his haze. "What are you waiting for? I'm the only one who will ever understand you!"

"I'm not saving you!" He shouted, turning his body so he could keep both Riley and Amelia in his sight. Another bang resonated from Riley's gun. He didn't need to look to know that Mei Chen was dead, flickering out of existence like she had from his cyber render.

Riley's pistol fell as she slumped forward, face screwed in pain. "What the hell are you waiting for, Gabriel? Go save her!" She jerked her head towards his wife.

Amelia begged with her eyes. _No_. _Let me go._

Adrenaline surged through his body. He couldn't let her die, not again.

"Don't do this," the previous love of his life pleaded. "Save her. She'll always have your back."

"Listen to me," Riley said; serious and commanding, each word pronounced with care. "This is your one and only chance. Save Amelia."

His body refused to move in either direction.

"Ten seconds, Gabriel, or I turn off the chip," Lillian ordered from the ceiling.

"Why are you doing this, Lillian?" he yelled, hoping to buy more time. "You want to turn my chip off? Turn it off! Don't make me choose who gets to live and who has to die!"

He looked into the eyes of his two choices. One pair said don't you dare do this; the other said don't you dare not. His heart cracked.

"Three seconds, Vaughn."

There wasn't going to be another chance. This was it. He had to decide now. "I'm sorry," he rasped, then pushed off towards the woman he was going to—

"GABRIEL!"

He jolted up, his eyes flying open to Riley, whose hands shot out to steady him.

"Riley?" He croaked, his voice rough from disuse. The panic of his dream hit like a wave and he pushed against her, struggling to get to… something.

It took the better part of two minutes for Riley to force him back against the pillows. "Deep breathes," she ordered, exuding the calmness she reserved for emergency situations. "You're okay. Just breath. Nice and slow." She did it with him, giving him a pattern to mimic. "That's it."

Several minutes passed before she stood, returning moments later with a wet hand towel. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she gently wiped the sweat off his forehead and face. She continued down his neck then hesitated.

The water was soothing against his overheated skin. The cold along with the deep breaths were beginning to work, fighting against the overwhelming amount of adrenaline in his system. "Keep going," he whispered, his throat still scratchy. The sudden onslaught of adrenaline without a proper outlet left him weak and shaky as his body processed it.

A faint blush settled over her cheeks. "You-ah-sure you don't want to do it yourself?" she asked, obviously trying not to let her gaze wander down his chest.

Even in his condition he had to smirk. "Go ahead, Riley. Enjoy it. Might be the only time you get to see me in bed hot, naked and sweaty."

Her jaw dropped, but she gathered her wits quickly. "As least it's one-zero me. Good luck trying to tie that score back up." She pushed the wet towel against him and stood. "I'm going to get you some water."

"Make it a beer," he muttered at her back and smiled. She had turned that around fast. Once he heard the sink running, he collapsed back into his pillows. Exhaustion pulled at him, even though the clock said he'd already slept for five hours. As a soldier, he'd gone on less.

Footsteps alerted him to Riley's return and he reopened his eyes. Accepting the glass of water, he asked the first question that ran through his mind. "What are you doing here, Riley? Didn't know the secret service gave you superhuman senses. Unless you planted a bug?" He made a show of looking around.

She rolled her eyes. "Of course not, as you very well know what with your own superhuman skills," she said, referring to his chip. "You… you were sending me messages."

"I _what_?"

"It must have been your chip." After fishing her phone out of her sweatpants' pocket, she handed it to him.

His blood ran cold. He scanned the texts quickly, his brains easily processing the words because they were familiar. All the things he'd said in his dream, to Mei Chen, to Amelia, to Riley, were here.

The phone slid from his grasp.

"Gabriel? Are you all right?" A cool hand felt his forehead. Then cold glass pressed against his lips and he swallowed several mouthfuls of water.

He wrapped a hand around Riley's and the glass. "I'm fine."

"Do you need me to call Dr. Cassidy?"

"No!" He glared until she lowered the phone.

"Do you want to talk?" she asked tentatively.

Gabriel cocked his jaw. Seeing tangible evidence of his dream in the waking world brought everything rushing back. He didn't need to share that last choice he'd made. "No," he said shortly. "I think you should go."

"Go?"

His hands fisted around the blankets. "This isn't your apartment, Neal. I'm not a little boy who needs his mommy to wait till he falls back asleep again."

Her eyes flashed. "Fine. See you tomorrow, Gabriel," she said, stressing each syllable of his name like she did when she was angry.

She was barely out of the room when he pushed back the covers and followed her.

"Riley. Riley!"

Slowly, she turned. "What?"

Gabriel ran a hand over his face. "I didn't mean that the way it sounded."

Her face softened and she reached up, brushing a finger under his eye. "You look exhausted."

That light touch was enough to make his walls crumble. His breath hitched and he fought hard against the burning heat in his eyes. "I couldn't save her."

For a moment, confusion, then her eyebrows rose in understanding. She always caught on fast. "Amelia?" she question softly.

His head jerked in some form or another of a nod. "I could've, but I—" he cut himself off. He hadn't meant to tell her more than that.

Her eyes glimmered with interest. "Couldn't? Why not?" She tilted her head, searching his eyes.

The answer came unbidden to his lips. "Because it was either you, Mei Chen, or Amelia. I saved you."

Her jaw dropped a little ways. "You… instead of…why?" She stammered, thoroughly shocked.

"I don't know," he growled, tearing at his hair. That was what unnerved him. Saving Riley went against every vow he'd ever made to his wife. And he had no idea why he'd done it. Knowing it was a dream just made it worse. Weren't dreams supposed to show the inner thoughts of the unconsciousness?

A small frown appeared on Riley's lips and his heart gave a funny jump. She was strikingly beautiful, even when she frowned.

_Wait, what? Had he just thought that?_

Amelia's voice resounded in his mind. "We haven't been together for seven years, Gabriel. I'm not coming back from the dead."

"Gabriel?" An all too different voice asked.

He blinked and realized he'd been staring at her intently. His eyes traveled down to her lips, parted slightly from saying his name. His breath caught. What the hell was he doing? This was Riley. Secret Service Agent Riley Neal; whose job was to protect him from danger and to jump in front of flying bullets. He wasn't supposed to feel like this. This wasn't supposed to happen.

He leaned forward, and she didn't move away.

Her breath was warm on his lips. His gaze flickered up just as hers fluttered closed. But not before he'd seen the surprise, trust, and—as startling as it was—desire in them.

The final distance felt like nothing. His hands rose to cradle her face and his lips pressed gently against hers. Warm. Soft. Welcoming. The kiss was sweet and gentle, everything he wanted. Something he wanted more of.

Their lips parted, breath mingling, before he brought them together again. Her lips were made for his, he thought as heat rushed through him, blood slowly moving away from his brain. This couldn't feel any better; this couldn't be any more perfect than—

Full recognition of what he was doing hit him. He pulled back, shocked, staring at the first woman he'd kissed off-assignment since he'd wished Amelia goodbye. He cleared his throat. "You should go home."

If Riley was hurt by his abrupt tone, it didn't show. "Okay," she said and headed for the door. Just before she left, she turned back. "Don't shut me out, Gabriel."

The door closed and he let out his breath. Without being told to, his feet carried him to the kitchen window. He watched the darkness until Riley's lights came on then went off again.

"_Don't let her run halfway around the world."_

Amelia's words bounced around his head, causing his fists to curl over the counter's edge. He'd like to see them try to send her away from him; he would follow her wherever she went. This time, he wasn't going to let her go.

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**Thanks for reading if you've come this far! Send me a review or PM and let me know what you think! :)**


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